Wilkes-Barre man charged in fatal shooting

By James Halpin and Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writers)
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Published: April 26, 2013

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KRISTEN MULLEN / THE CITIZENS'
A group of women react with screams and cries at the scene of a fatal shooting on Reno Lane in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.

WILKES-BARRE — It began as a fight between two boys.

It ended with one father shooting another father in the head, police say.

City police charged Shauntae Verrez Thomas, 36, of 65 Reno Lane with a single count of criminal homicide in a deadly shooting near his home Thursday evening that left Derrick Cottle, 40, dead in the street with a gunshot wound to the head.

Witnesses said it all began over a dispute about a basketball game at the Coal Street Park.

“It’s an unfortunate incident,” Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said this morning. “Its senseless. Two families are ruined right now over an argument. It’s terrible to go into a community in Wilkes-Barre that had to watch something like this occur.”

Police were called to the scene on Reno Lane about 7:30 p.m. Thursday and arrived to find Cottle’s body in the middle of the street with a gunshot to the head.

Soon after their arrival, police found Thomas near 26 Reno Lane with a Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol nearby. A witness identified him as the shooter, according to the affidavit.

Thomas’ son, Devin Thomas, 17, was also found on the scene with a head wound and was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township, according to court records.

Police arrested Shauntae Thomas and brought him to headquarters for questioning, where he agreed to speak without an attorney, police said.

Shauntae Thomas told investigators that he had been out shopping with his girlfriend and daughter and when they returned to her home at 26 Reno Lane, his son told him that a group of youths and an adult had threatened to kill him, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses at the scene reported that the altercation began when Cottle’s son beat Devin Thomas at a basketball game at the Coal Street Park.

Shauntae Thomas told police he took his son down the street trying to find the man in a blue shirt who was pursuing his son. They found the man near a store at Coal and Empire streets, police said.

As Shauntae Thomas approached, his son and another boy began fighting and wrestling, police said. The fight broke up and Shauntae Thomas told police he and his son were crossing Coal Street to leave the area when Cottle confronted him asking why he had been fighting his son, according to the affidavit.

Shauntae Thomas told police he replied that he hadn’t fought with the boy — in fact Devin Thomas had gotten into the fight, the affidavit says. Shauntae and Devin Thomas headed home, and Shauntae Thomas told police that once he was inside, his son ran in a few minutes later telling him to come back out, police said.

Shauntae Thomas told police a group of guys was standing around his house, including Cottle and Cottle’s son. He claimed Cottle said he wanted to finish things and that he responded by saying he wanted them to leave, according to the affidavit.

Devin Thomas began arguing and fighting with someone, and Shauntae Thomas reported that he heard a loud smack and saw his son lying in a pool of blood — he had been knocked out, the according to the affidavit.

After seeing his son on the ground, Shauntae Thomas told police he pulled his pistol from his waist and saw the group begin to scatter, police said.

“The defendant said that he gave chase, and fired the gun for what seemed to be a short distance,” says the affidavit, filed by Wilkes-Barre police detectives David Sobocinsk and Brent Sevison.

A witness told police he saw Shauntae Thomas walking on Reno Lane carrying a pistol in his right hand. The witness saw Shauntae Thomas fire twice and heard two more shots, police said.

Court records show Magisterial District Judge Martin Kane arraigned Shauntae Thomas at 4:15 a.m. Shauntae Thomas was remanded to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail. A preliminary hearing is set for May 9 at 10 a.m.

Elizabeth Skrapits, staff writer, contributed to this report.

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